
;VV.'^{"V;'iV.'!<v\-.v,V;V, 



'A« 
'm. 




Pa'-' ^ 




Class. 



23Pz/ 9' 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/publicdebateinchOOspai 



;^^.-5--^' 



f^i^' 



I 15 J 



BM\ 



IN 



THU CMJ^mMBB. OP FB.O€1 



OF THE 



€#IE1^li^ #lf ^1*^^^, 



THIRD OF SEPTEMBER, 



1834. 



€i<t^^-«^-'i^ 



\m , «^ 



IN 



THE CESAMBESl OF P^OCISIISS 



AT THEIR SESSION 

OF THE THIRD OF SEPTEMBER, 1834, 

IN WHICH 
THE EXCLUSION OF THE PRINCE 

DON CARLOS AND HIS DESCENDANTS, 
FROM THEIR SUCCESSION TO THE CROWN, 



¥/ 



'-vsvMSfsai'c- 



/ 3 -•, 



vf*,as c^RRiEn 



^WaS'Ila(2)Wl' ^ ©a^^I^MT^D'SSS'f^ W®S©5^c 



PHILJIDELPHM: 

PHINTED BY JOHN TOUNG, NO. 3 BtACK HORSE ALIXT. 



1834. 



ERRATA. 



Page 10, line 22, ibv from that time read /o;-. 

" 20, " 10, for recored read recovered. 

" 4l', " 15, for inheriting ideas read inlieriting /((.< ideas. 

" 44, " IP, for Ins Sovereign read her Sovereign. 



^i?®j^s© a)SPi^' 



Tzs g:^:am3:^p. or p^oo3?«es, 

Of the Cories of Spaiti. 

Septenil)cr 3, 1834. 



IIis Excellency the President of the House of Proceres, 
having announced that the House was ready to take up the 
report of the Committee in relation to the exclusion from the 
crown of the Infante don Carlos and his family, his Excellency 
the duke of Veragnas proposed that the debate should not be 
closed whilst any member wished to occupy the floor, and it 
was agreed accordingly. The report was read by his Excel- 
lency the Secretary, after which the President of the Council 
took the floor and spoke as follows : — 

" When on the 4th of April last, the Secretaries of State 
had the honor of proposing to Her Majesty the Queen Regent 
the restoration of the ancient laws of the monarchy, consi- 
dering them as the best calculated for the security of the 
throne, and the most likely to connect its cause with the 
liberty and the rights of the nation, they laid before Her 
Majesty the powerful reasons which existed for the convoca- 
tion of the general Cortes of the kingdom, agreeably to our 
ancient institutions, and with such variations and reforms 
only as were required by the difference of times and circum- 
stances. Amongt the various grounds which they then took, 
the following were the most important ; the Secretary then 
read as follows :" 

" In the presence of the general Cortes of the kingdom, 
" with the law of the land in our hands, and in the most 
" solemn manner of which the annals of this monarchy fur- 



" nish an example, we will expose in the face of the nation 
" and of the world the conduct of that ill-advised Prince, 
" who, by exciting civil discord and aiming to usurp the 
" throne, daily calls down upon himself the severest mea- 
" sures which the nation can lawfully adopt for its safety 
" and for its defence- The meeting of the Cortes of the king- 
" dom is the only legal means recognised and sanctioned by 
" immemorial custom in similar cases, to silence unjust pre- 
" tensions, disarm party spirit, and pronounce an irrevoca- 
" ble verdict which may serve as a pledge and guarantee for 
" the future tranquillity of the state." 

" Such was the language of the Secretaries of State on the 
fourth of April of the present year ; and on the opening of the 
general Cortes of the kingdom, on that day which will for 
ever be memorable in the annals of the Spanish nation, Her 
Majesty the Queen Regent was pleased to declare that the 
subject which is about to occupy the attention of this body, 
should be one of the first submitted to the decision of the 
Cortes, in as much as it is undoubtedly one of the greatest 
solemnity and importance. 

" The Secretaries, anxious to comply with this determina- 
tion of Her Majesty, and the report of the Committee on the 
measure proposed by the Government, for the exclusion of the 
Infante Don Carlos and his descendants from the succession 
to the crown of Spain, in the most clear and precise manner, 
being under discussion, they now come forward to fulfil that 
solemn promise of the throne. They come forward to com- 
ply with this obligation, not indeed without a certain feeling 
of respect and awe, which the importance of the subject and 
the dignity of the persons connected with it must naturally 
inspire : for when we approach the foot of the throne we find 
that it is impossible even to touch its foundation, although it 
be to strengthen and invigorate it, without in a greater or 
lesser degree disturbing the entire fabric of society." 

" The Secretaries of State laid it down as an unquestion- 
able principle that this subject, this measure of supreme im- 



portance, appertained exclusively to the Cortes ; a principle 
derived from our laws, sanctioned by usage, strengthened by 
the practice of other nations, and founded in justice and pub- 
lic convenience, which require that those who must feel most 
interest in the prosperity and the happiness of the nation, 
should alone have cognizance of questions of such magni- 
tude." 

" Happily we are not now called upon to examine the rela- 
tive pretensions of two claimants of the throne: the rights of 
our Queen are incontrovertible ; they rest on immemorial cus- 
tom, on the undeviating usage of ages, on the uninterrupted 
examples of our history, and on the fundamental principles of 
our legislation. These rights were sanctioned by our Cortes, 
when they recognised and swore allegiance to our Queen as 
the rightful heiress of her paternal throne; and having received 
the unanimous consent of the nation, they are sufficiently firm 
and valid to silence all pretensions, and disarm all party 
spirit. But as it must be admitted that, notwithstanding the 
laws which have regulated the right of succession in Spain, 
this ill-advised Prince now ventures to lay claim to the crown, 
and as the safety of the State should never be exposed to 
chance, nor the nation to the risk of seeing, by a series of 
fatal events, its institutions, its happiness, even its hopes, 
prostrated in a day, it becomes our duty to banish all cause 
of apprehension, and settle forever the destinies of Spain. 

" And who but the Cortes possess the right to declare a 
Prince and his decendants excluded from their right of succes- 
sion t<? the throne ? Open the volume of our national history, 
and we shall there behold that when, by the disturbances and 
calamities of the times, doubts and disputes have been excited 
in regard to the succession, and when in the strife of conten- 
ding parties Spanish blood has been shed by Spanish hands, 
the Cortes has been the sole tribunal to decide questions of tliis 
importance, that Cortes which has always been regarded as 
the anchor of safety when the ship of state has been exposed 
to mighty tempests. The clamour of party has sunk into 



silence at ifs august voice, to its firmness and constancy all 
illegal attempts and unfounded pretensions have been com- 
pelled to yield ; countless examples may be cited from our his- 
tory : let it suiiice to recall the occurrences of the days of the 
sons of Don Fernando de la Cerda, and the epoch of our Queen 
Isabel, whose name awakens such glorious recollections and 
scenes to animate our brightest hopes. 

"We shall find that whenever imminent peril has threat- 
ened the State, the Cortes has invariably been resorted to to 
stop the current of evil, and save the nation and the throne. 
There never did nor can exist any tribunal more appropriate, 
more dignified. 

" Let it not be inferred from my expressions that this is a 
cause to be decided in accordance with the provision of our 
codes; it is no cause which requires us to descend to detail, 
and nicely weigh every fact; it is one of those causes in which 
States, by the natural instinct of self-preservation^ are com- 
pelled themselves to pronounce the sentence. 

" Considering then the present question under this aspect, 
let us enter upon the consideration of what the conduct of 
the Prince has been ; and presenting it under this point of 
view, and comparing that conduct with the laws, let us ob- 
serve how manifest has been its violation of all of them. 

'• It is a remarkable fact that as far back as the year 18*22, 
and on the first announcement of the political reactions of 
the time, we heard the name of this Prince used to countenance 
a principle of opposition to the royal authority, under the 
deceitful pretence of giving ii greater extent and stability. 

" I w\\\ not pretend to consider what were his views and 
intentions at that time, but I seek only to direct attention to 
the fact that, under color then of invigorating the royal 
authority, and re-establishing it, as it was said, in the pleni- 
tude of its rights, this Prince was made to serve as a rallying 
point ; and whatever other causes may have contributed to the 
result, these movements were closely followed by the over- 
throw of the political system of the time. 



9 

*' When the throne was re-established in what was then 
called the plenitude of its rights, we behold this same party 
re-appear, to which might be applied these words of an enlight- 
ened Monarch, that " it claimed to be more royal than the 
King." We see this party again revived, more incorrigible, 
more audacious, more at variance with every thing connected 
with the happiness of the nation, constant in its errors, in its 
antipathies, in its vengeance. Then it exhibits itself openly in 
Spain, it invokes the name of this Piince, and unblushingly 
raises the standard of rebellion. — The question of succession 
was not then agitated, it was not the object to know whether 
the right appertained to the male line of Don Carlos or to the 
females : to ascend the throne, it was indispensable to hurl 
from it by outrage its legitimate possessor. 

" But a short time had elapsed when a military adventurer, 
presenting himself at the head of this party, openly proclaims 
this Prince ; yet we never see him come forward and say in 
the face of the nation / am no party to such outrages. 

" After these unsuccessful attempts we saw a plan still more 
extensive unfolded in a province which, from its locality and 
the warlike and bold temperament of its inhabitants, was cal- 
culated to give more serious apprehensions to the Government. 
Revolution is attempted in other provinces, as in that of Se- 
ville, where, by good fortune, it was crushed by firmness and 
severity in a single day, and in that of Granada, where this 
incendiary effort failed for want of proper fuel. 

" All these struggles to precipitate the legitimate Monarch 
from his throne, were made at a time when there was no room 
for the question of succession, when the Prince who is the 
subject of this discourse, was the immediate successor, and 
when he had a right to entertain well grounded hopes of a 
future lawful possession of the crown. 

" Then we witnessed another painful and surprising spec- 
tacle : we beheld that same royal authority itself come for- 
ward, not to mediate, but to throw its shield over the guilty, 
and extend its arms to save them. The political results o! 

B 



10 

such conduct were not considered, nor the prevention of 
the recurrence of such evils at an earlier or later day ; the 
Government closed its eyes over the abyss towards which 
they were conducting it ; it conspired with its own enemies 
for its own destruction ; it committed a political suicide. 

" Meanwhile the ambitious Prince concealing his designs, 
was closely watching his opportunity"; and what time did he 
select 1 When the Monarch, sufFermg under a dreadful ma- 
lady, was standing on the brink of the grave, a moment when 
even the most indifferent and obdurate hearts would have 
been open to compassion and sympathy ; this was the time 
selected to extort from tlie King a declaration by which he 
disinherited his own daughters. Deceit, threats, the alarm- 
ing denunciation of a civil war ready to break out in the 
kingdom — every thing was laid hold of for the accomplish- 
ment of this criminal purpose. But I need not dwell any 
longer on an historical fact, supported by the solemn decla- 
ration of the Monarch himself, made in the presence of so 
many illustrious witnesses, some of whom were then per- 
fectly aware of the late occurrences. 

" The destiny of Spain, or rather that divine Providence 
which watches over the Spanish nation, from that time saved 
the throne. But the attempt was not abandoned, the plan 
of usurpation was persevered in, although it was left to slum- 
ber for a season, in the expectation that the feeble health of 
the King would soon present a more favourable opportunity. 
** Political reasons induced the departure of the Prince from 
the Spanish teritory, in order to remove every pretext or mo- 
tive to civil commotions. Having fixed his abode in a neigh- 
bouring kingdom, a more distant place was, with all due re- 
gard, designated as his future residence. What was his answer 
to this order? It has just been read. — He gave as an excuse 
for his disobedience, public calamities, the cholera, the war, 
the capture of Lisbon, even pretences of religion. He availed 
himself of every thing to elnde the order of the Sovereign — to 
hover near the much coveted throne, to be more at hand on 



11 

the demise of the Monarch, and that he might be himself then 
proclamed King. 

"Agreeably to the custom established in Spain forages, 
Ferdinand VIL had directed that the Cortes assembled in 
Madrid should recognise his eldest daughter as the heiress to 
the crown. Previous to this, and supposing that then was 
the time to make him discover his designs, the question had 
been put to the Prince, whether he was ready to take his oath 
of allegiance : and what was his reply? He sends a protest 
in which two remarkable matters are found. If this Prince 
considered himself entitled to the throne, what more natural 
course, being acquainted with the law^s of the monarchy, 
than for him to invoke the Cortes to adjudge it to him? One 
of the remarkable parts of this reply is, that he claims 
his supposed rights as derived directly from God himself, 
taking for granted that God alone could divest him of 
them : thus refusing to weigh his rights in the scale of the 
law, and, fearing the verdict of the nation, he endeavoured to 
protect his illegitimate cause, by affixing thereto the seal of 
the Supreme Creator, whose name he profaned. He even 
accompanied this kind of protest with a recommendation 
to the King that it should be communicated to foreign So- 
vereigns ; we thus see the disposition of this party to disre- 
gard our laws, and refusing to acknowledge our institutions, 
call upon foreigners to sustain its pretensions. Such is the 
nature of this party, such its temper, its views, its designs; 
for in the very words of the Prince, as addressed to cer- 
tain foreign cabinets, this is not a mere question of suc- 
cession but of principles. The answ^er of King Ferdinand 
Vn. was full of dignity, and he received as it deserved the 
suggestion of communicating the protest to foreign Sove- 
reigns. This is a national, I may even say a domestic 
question, which is no ways connected with foreign nations, 
and in this respect the reply of H. M. was full of nobleness 
and decorum. It was not confined to this, but His Ma- 
jesty also gave strict injunctions to his ministers of State 



12 



that no correspondence of any kind should be entered into, 
nor any explanation received, either directy or indirectly, in 
relation to this subject. 

" Fortunately all the governments of Europe have recog- 
nised the principle of non-intervention as to our domestic 
affairs ; and if one cabinet alone considered itself authorised 
to protest, by reason of its rights to the crown, a pro- 
test which was made at the time of the oath of allegiance, 
and announced as far back as 1830, on the publication of 
the pragmatic sanction, the ministry replied that by an ex- 
press order of His Majesty no such pretensions could be 
admitted. I mention this fact in order to prove that the 
Spanish Government has always sustained the principle of 
national independence ; and I recall it also in order that the 
contrast may be the more striking with the conduct of a 
Prince, who seemed to appeal for support to the decision 
of foreigners. 

" After the protest, the Prince remained firm in his re- 
fusal to leave Portugal, and immemediately after the de- 
cease of the King, he openly declared himself to be the 
legitimate Monarch of Spain, and began to exercise his pre- 
tended sovereignty; and in his papers, which were seized 
in Guarda, of which mention is made in the report of 
the Committee, various original documents were found, 
which go to prove that he had already assumed the title 
of King of Spain. They also contain proofs, that during his 
residence in the kingdom of Portugal, he had endeavoured, 
as far as lay in his power, to further his designs by keeping 
up the spirit of disaffection, and that he never desisted from 
his projects until the Spanish army penetrated into that king- 
dom, not with any view to meddle with its domestic dissen- 
tions, but in order to drive from it the public disturber of our 
tranquility, who was constantly threatening our frontiers. 
When on the point of falling into the hands of our troops, he 
fled, and found protection in Evora. 

" At the date of the entry of the Spanish troops into 



13 

Portugal, the treaty of the quadruple Alliance had not 
yet been made, and at the time of its ratification in Lon- 
don, the usurper of that crown had already been expelled 
from its territory, and the throne had been restored to its 
legitimate Queen. In one of the articles of that treaty, 
in accordance with the noble sentiments of Her Majesty 
the Queen Regent, and in condescension to the generous 
intercession of her august Allies, it was declared that 
a suitable provision should be made for Prince Don 
Carlos during his life, under condition that he should not 
select for his place of residence any point which might give 
any just ground of apprehension to the Government of Her 
Majesty and that he should not avail himself of those means 
against his country, which he owed to her generosity. This 
Prince was then prostrate — he found himself expelled from 
the kingdom which he had chosen for his asylum — he was 
on board of a foreign vessel; but Her Majesty the Queen 
Regent, without taking any advantage of his desperate situ- 
ation, made him the generous ofler which has just been men- 
tioned; he, however, refused to accept it, and declared that 
he was determined to sustain his imaginary rights. 

The Government of his Britanic Majesty, in perfect good 
faith, and beingsincerely desirous to contribute to the tranquili- 
ty and happiness of Spain, lent its co-operation to the upright 
views of the Spanish cabinet — but without success ; and 
without entering into any further details, or enquiring how 
far this Prince is the blind instrument of a party, we behold 
him abandoning that kingdom, rapidly traversing France 
and entering Spain, in the presumption that his presence 
would instantly rouse the whole kingdom in his favor. He 
is already undeceived, and it is possible that he may yet 
receive a more serious lesson. 

"Without examining minutely the course of events, but 
taking a general view of the conduct of this Prince, it be- 
comes evident that he never has abandoned his criminal in- 
tention of usurping the crown. And what are the rights on 



14 

which he can ground his pretensions? what titles can he 
bring forward to sustain his hopes ? Does he depend on the 
laws, on the established custom of the nation, on treaties ? 
No, gentlemen ; a short examination will be sufficient to 
show the airy foundation on which they rest. 

In relation to the laws of Spain, it is evident that we must 
not go so far back as the primitive limes of the monarchy of 
the Visigoths: the crown was not then hereditary — it was 
elective ; because the warlike habits of that people, which bear 
the stamp of the rudeness of the age, required for a chieftain a 
military leader who might lead them to battle ; an office but 
ill suited to the hand of a female; consequently the establish- 
ed practice of those remote ages has no bearing on the ques- 
tion before us. 

" The invasion of the Saracens shortly followed, and the 
nation being restricted within very narrow limits, in which 
we may say that a cave was its only refuge, they had no Kings, 
but only military leaders; the sceptre was the sword. — But 
even then, and whilst our forefathers were recovering their 
territory inch by inch, and every new acquisition must be 
defended with torrents of blood, we find in the succession to 
the crown a certain tendency towards an hereditary monar- 
chy ; a certain regard is paid to those who intermarry with 
the daughters or the sisters of Kings ; we find that certain 
designations were in some instances made to provide for the 
demise of those who were invested with the royal dignity, 
very similar to the practice of the Roman Emperors in latter 
ages, who associated in the government those whom they 
had selected as their successors. There are several instances 
of the same thing in Spain, until in the course of time, and to 
the great benefit of the nation, hereditary monarchy was finally 
established. 

" It is worfhy of remark that immediately after this most 
important change there were examples of yielding to fe- 
males the right of succession to the crown. A marked 
pecularity in the Spanish monarchy is the oath of alle- 



15 

giance to the heirs apparent. Our forefathers were fearful 
lest the chain of succession miajht be broken, unless the 
connecting links were secured in time, and the death of 
Kings was provided for in advance. In this manner no in- 
terruption could possibly take place in the royal authority, 
in that authority so eminently tutelary and preservative in 
its nature, that it cannot be suspended for a single moment 
without convulsing the State. 

" It is also remarkable that the first who received this 
oath of allegiance was a female. The daughter of Alonso 
VI. was the first ever recognised as heiress to the crown 
during the life of her father. This innovation proved of 
such advantage, that from that time it became an estab- 
lished custom, which has been handed down to our own 
time. But the succession of females to the crown was not yet 
clothed with the authority of written laws, it was a cus- 
tom, a practice, which not unfrequently carries more force 
than law itself Then there existed no Spanish codes; for the 
first set of laws ever known in Spain, since the restoration, 
was a sketch of Don Alonso the Wise, such as a painter traces 
as a guide for a magnificent workof his art. In this sketch we 
see that females were even then called to the succession, not in- 
deed in imitation of any foreign nation, but from a national 
practice or usage, which had existed for ages among the Spa- 
niards. 

" A few years after the Especulo and Fuero Real, in both 
of which codes the right of females to the throne is fully esta- 
blished, the Partidas were composed, an immortal monument 
of the wise Don Alonso, and the most perfect work of that 
age, which recalls the Roman grandeur, and which, like the 
works of that great people, has been proof against the ravages 
of time. In that code we already see a positive and explicit 
law by which females are called to the succession; see law 
2d, title 15th Partida 2d. This and the succeeding law, 
not only provide the order of succession, but also mark the 
course to be pursued on the demise of Kings in order to repress 



16 

the ambition of those who might, during the minority of the 
heir apparent, aspire to usurp the crown. This law may 
well be set down as a model of wisdom and foresight, where- 
by the tender feelings of the heart are made to harmonize 
with the maxims of a sound policy: the guardianship of the 
infant King is entrusted to his own mother; thus selecting that 
person who is the most interested in the protection of the 
young Monarch, and the preservation of his kingdom, and 
from whom no ambitious projects of usurpation can be appre- 
hended. It was with a view to guard against any dangers 
of this kind that the Prince who stood nearest to the crown 
was carefully excluded from the regency. 

"In conformity with the provisions of the code of the Par- 
tidas, we see Don Alfonso the Wise causing his daughter, born 
before Don Fernando Dela Cerda, to be recognised as his 
successor; and as the oath of allegiance carries with it an ac- 
knowledgment of right, and that in this case and other simi- 
lar ones, there neither did or could exist any other cause of 
exclusion, except the later birth of a Prince, hence it follows 
that succession in the female line is not only supported by the 
example of those who have actually reigned, but also of those 
Princesses to whom allegiance has been sworn as heiresses 
to the crown. 

" This Prince was succeeded by his son Sancho the 
Brave ; and in the same Cortes by whom he was recognised 
as King, we remark a thing which deserves our atten- 
tion. The law of Partida, which regulated the succes- 
sions to the crown, contained two provisions which seemed 
to harmonize with each other, by the first females were 
called to the succession in the absence of males, and the second 
granted the right of representation to the sons of the first 
born to the exclusion of any other line, a right unknown un- 
til that time in Spain and taken from the Roman law. And 
what was the consequence ? We see Don Sancho the Brave 
in the very same Cortes, cause the oath of allegiance to be 
taken to his daughter as the heiress apparent to the crown ; 



17 

that is to say, to recognise the right of females to the suc- 
cession, as it had ah-eady been recognised previous to the 
birth of that Prince, in the person of his sister Dona Beren- 
guela. 

**' We therefore see that the same Cortes pay this homage 
to the ancient customs of Castille which called females to the 
throne, at the same time that they do not admit the right of 
representation which is of foreign origin. It appears for the 
first time in the Partidas, and is no where to be found in the 
previous attempts at legislation ; but in spite of its being in- 
serted in a law, it is neither recognised nor put into practice » 
and even tlie code of the Partidas itself had no force or vali- 
dity until a century afterwards. 

" As we advance in our history we come to a most la- 
mentable period ; for such was the reign of Henry IV. 
At that time when the throne and the State seemed about 
to be buried beneath their own ruins, amidst the clash of 
so many contending parties. Dona Juana was proclaimed, 
without any one daring to call into question the right of 
females, and allegiance was sworn to her as heiress to the 
crown ; and those who proclaimed the brother of the King 
during the life of the Monarch, those who presented to the 
nation and to the world the shameful scenes of Avila, (a 
disgraceful page in our history,) did not dare to allege the 
sex of this Princess as a disqualification; but, to invali- 
date her rights, they had to call into question her origin, 
and dared to penetrate the secrets of the royal couch. 

" On the death of Don Alonso, which deprived the party of 
its leader, the nation began to incline in favor of the Princess 
Dona Isabel ; from that time the question was between two 
females, the one the daughter and the other the sister of the 
King. The weak Monarch dies, and the nation is left in the 
most lamentable disorder ; torn to pieces by civil war, divided 
into parties and factions. One party openly declares for 
Dona Juana, another proclaims Dona Isabel, and^a part of 
the nobility takes up arms in favor of the former, and to sus- 



18 

tairl the will of the King, in which he said (according to the 
curate de los Palacios in his interesting manuscript,) that he 
left her as his heiress. They contended as to what had been 
the last will of the King, not as to the right of female suc- 
cession, but only as to the legitimacy of ihe individual, 

" We notice the singular fact in our history, that the right of 
females to the succession has never been brought into question, 
(if my memory serves me,) but in one solitary instance, and 
that the most unfounded and extraordinary. When in the 
course of events the partisans of Dona J nana were finally 
defeated, and the Portuguese had been driven from the terri- 
tory of Castillo, the next question was to organize the Gov- 
ernment, and it was with difficulty that the different parties 
were made to forego their influence, for with it they resigned 
their power. Some few seemed to fear that the Queen would 
not possess sufficient firmness to maintain her rights, and they 
expected to advance their own interest by introducing a 
spirit of discord betM^een the two royal consorts. Those 
who pretended that the command ouglit to be entrusted to 
the husband, alleged that the crown belonged to the male 
in preference to the female, and therefore that the sceptre of 
Castille belonged not to Dona Isabel, but to Don Fernando, 
in consequence of the rights which he had inherited from his 
father. This is the solitary example which our history pre- 
sents of an attempt to call into question the right of females. 
By good fortune the firmness of Dona Isabel, and the pru- 
dence and sagacity of her husband, destroyed in the germe 
the seeds of disorder and disorganization, and the Cortes and 
the nation recognised with transport Dona Isabel as Queen of 
Castille in her own right. 

" It must be observed that this epoch, in which the mon- 
archy was, as it were, created by the aggregation of va- 
rious states, is that in which we see more frequent instances 
of the principle of the succession of females being recognised 
as a fundamental law of the kingdom. 

" In virtue of this right Dona Isabel ascended the throne. 



19 

and her eldest daughter was recognised in the absence of a 
male heir — a recognition which was of no effect, because of 
the birth of the Infante Don Juan. This unfortunate and 
lamented Prince died, and Dona Isabel was again recog- 
nised as the legitimate successor to the throne ; this Princess 
perished, and she was followed by her son — that Prince Don 
Miguel, the son of an Infanta of Castillo and of King Don Ma- 
nual of Portugal. How many brillianl hopes the nation here 
saw prostrated, and how different might have been her 
destiny ! 

" After such repeated losses and misfortunes had, in the 
space of a few years, befallen the royal family, the nation re- 
cognised Dona Juana as heiress to the throne, notwithstand- 
ing the weakness of her intellect. 

" In all these occurrences we notice the constant determi- 
nation of the Spaniards to preserve the laws, the customs, the 
practice of their sires ; and it was in this manner that they 
triumphed over the ambitious pretensions of a Prince so sa- 
gacious as Ferdinand the Catholic. They likewise triumphed 
over those of Philip the Fair, whose wishes were to rule alone, 
and not in conjunction with his wife; and we see King Fer- 
dinand, when he eventually gets the authority into his own 
hands, still exercising it in the name of his daughter, agreea- 
bly to the testament of Queen Dona Isabel, and in respect 
to the will of the nation. 

"But very shortly after this another example occurred 
still more remarkable and conclusive: Prince Don Carlos 
comes to Spain and swears allegiance to the fundamental 
laws of the monarchy in the presence of the Cortes of Val- 
ladolid of 1518; young, handsome, generous, even prodigal, 
distributing favours to all, in short, with every quality calcu- 
lated to win affection and form around him a powerful party: 
yet in spite of all these advantages, the Representatives of 
the kingdom insist upon recognising and proclaming Dona 
Juana his mother as the lawful Queen ; and, if they consent 
that Don Carlos shall reign in her name, it is with so much 



20 

circumspection and so many checks, as manifested that even 
this condescendence was a sacrifice. It was directed that the 
name of the Queen should always precede; Don Carlos was 
to take no other title but that of Prince; and even with all 
these precautions, they gave it to be understood that they felt 
a certain kind of reluctance, not to say remorse ; and on grant- 
ing to Don Carlos the exercise of the supreme power, it was 
with a clause, that they did it in consequence of the sad situa- 
tion in which the Queen found herself; but that if she ever 
recoved her faculties, by the divine aid, she alone should rule 
the kingdom. 

" Thus if we peruse the history of Spain we shall see this 
right of succession of females always firm, lawful, and valid. 
But what more? Even though the Spanish monarchy has 
been formed of so many diflferent states, whose legislation 
was so various, we perceive that on this point, notwithstand- 
ing the dissimilitude of usages, habits, and customs, and in 
some instances even of language, there is not one in which fe- 
males are excluded from the succession to the crown. We 
find this practice established in Leon, and it even contributes 
to the union of that kingdom with that of Castille; in Castillo 
we see it confirmed by numerous examples and being about 
its junction with the kingdom of Aragon; in Aragon we see 
females occupy the throne, and even when that people exer- 
cised a most solem right, by calling a Prince to the throne, 
using its free right of election, we see it take into account 
the right which the infante Don Fernando of Castille, the con- 
quorer of Antequera, derived from a female. 

"What is most remarkable is that it so happens, that 
one of the revolted provinces is precisely that in which 
this rule has been most invariably followed. The par- 
ticular usages of Navarre, from remote times, have so 
strongly confirmed this law of female succession, that be- 
fore its union with Castille five Queens had already occupied 
the throne of Navarre. Such was the firmness with which 
that people sustained this right, that when a heiress ap- 



21 

parent was married to a foreign Prince, as it happened 
with the wife of Philij) the Fair King of France, he was 
made to swear in a clear and conclusive manner that 
he would never alter, nor consent to any alteration by any 
law or statute of this fundamental principle of the succession of 
females. Thus it is that after the reunion of the kingdom 
of Navarre to that of France, a union which hardly counted 
half a century of duration, a very remarkable line of demar- 
cation was drawn, when the Princess Dona Juana, daughter 
of Lewis Hutin, King of France, could not succeed to that 
throne, because it was forbidden by the Salic law; she was 
called to succeed to the throne of Navarre, where by an expli- 
cit law females were admitted. Some efforts were made to 
prevent it; but the Navarrians resolutely answered, that the 
French law excluding females was not in force in their king- 
dom ; and in the Cortes convoked at Pamplona, and so numer- 
ously attended, that its sessions were held in a public square, 
Dona Juana was proclaimed Queen of Navarre. 

" This is a notable fact; yet the one I am about cite is still 
more worthy of attention. That Royal Act of 1713, which 
is the only law on which the party of Don Carlos rests its 
pretensions, met with particular opposition in Navarre, the 
deputations from that kingdom positively refusing to record 
it, as being contrary to their privileges. They thought that 
the ancient law of succession could not be abrogated, by a 
recent law, a law of foreign origin, in direct opposition to the 
usages of their kingdom. 

"It is then manifest that neither in our ancient codes, nor 
in the laws of a more recent date, nor in the usages of any 
particular province, can a single provision be found contra- 
dicting the right of females to the succession of the throne. 

*' I shall not enter upon the examination of what has trans- 
pired relative to the secret history of this Royal Act; although 
we are possessed of documents that prove that the Cortes of 
1713 did not act in this matter with the freedom and legality 
which it ought to have exercised in the abolition of a law so 



constantly observed in Spain — and what were the reasons 
then alleged for this act ? none. 

" The same is precisely the case now ; not a single 
weighty reason can be furnished— for if in France, by the 
influence which her civil legislation has exercised over 
her political code, the exclusion of females has become a 
part of the law of succession, from very remote times in 
Spain, as well as in many other countries and in almost all the 
monarchies of Europe, such legulations have never existed. 
Nor can this law of Philip V. be properly denominated a salic 
law; since it only establishes the principle of lineal descent, 
subsequently calling females to the throne. 

" Must then this provision, this law, or more properly this act 
(even the name of regulation appears to give it a paltry charac- 
ter,)must this act of foreign origin which was received amongst 
us with so much difficulty, and has not, even in a solitary 
instance, been carried into effect, must it then, I ask, be 
held in such profound respect and deep veneration, that 
the nation shall be denied the right to annul it, by the 
same procedure, and with the same formalities that it 
was established ? The decision of the Cortes of 1789, is 
in every way as respectable, as firm, as valid, as any deci- 
sion of the Cortes of 1713. Thus the champions of usur- 
pation finding themselves hemmed in on all sides, have, as 
their last resort, sheltered themselves under the supposition 
that the crown of Spain must be viewed as an entail, — a com- 
parison most singularly idle, incorrect, and dangerous, — and 
then, considering Philip V. as the founder of an entail, they 
have denied to his successors the power of altering any of its 
clauses ; nor have those been wanting, who, regarding that 
Monarch as a conqueror of the kingdom, have considered him 
as the arbiter of the nation's destiny ; an idea as false as it is 
revolting, and particularly disgraceful in the mouth of a 
Spaniard. 

" Others have pretended to consider the question, not as a 
domestic one and peculiar to Spain, but as an european ques- 



23 

tion; and under this aspect they have wished to maintain that 
the nation was not authorized to disregard a solemn treaty. It 
is not so much to be wondered at that this opinion was well 
received among the partisans of the deluded Prince, but it is 
a subject of surprise to see it find credit with persons appa- 
rently impartial ; and in one foreign kingdom we have seen 
it adopted by an orator in a representative body who, even 
at this day, has affirmed that the order of succession es- 
tablished by Philip V. could not possibly be altered without 
trampling under foot all existing treaties. 

" But what proof has he furnished in support of his asser- 
tion, by which he has vainly attempted to cast an accusation 
on the British ministry? He has cited the words addressed to 
Parliament by Queen Anne, after the celebration of the peace, 
manifesting that the object of re-establishing the equilibrium 
of Europe had been fully attained ; that in virtue of reciprocal 
renunciations it had become impossible that the crowns of 
Spain and France should in any case be united in the same 
person, and (in the language that the Queen herself used to 
silence the murmurs which were heard against the conclu- 
sion of the peace,) that they were more effectually separated 
than ever. 

" It then results that the primary end of the treaty, as it 
is actually expressed in the context, was to establish a just 
equilibrium among the powers of Europe, as a principle of 
justice, and as the foundation of a durable peace ; that the 
object of the treaty was to guard against the aggregation of 
Spain to the house of Austria, that had at one time threatened 
the liberties of Europe, and also aginst her union with France, 
which might equally compromise the general independence. 
Europe had not yet forgotten the time of Charles V., and it 
had just witnessed the gigantic plans of Lewis XIV. : a ge- 
neral league had been entered into in order to curb the am- 
bition of the latter, as it had been done in another age to 
repress that of Charles V., and as we have seen a similar 
combination in our own days to check the designs of Buona- 



24 

parte. The object of the peace of Utrecht was therefore 
general — european ; it was, like the treaty of Westphalia, to 
re-establish a due equilibrium between the different powers. 

" But this object once attained, by precluding the posi- 
bility of the crown of Spain ever devolving upon Austria or 
upon France, the regulation of the succession to the crown of 
these kingdoms was from that time viewed as an internal 
question, merely one of family line or dynasty ; it is on this 
principle that Philip V. in the Royal Act, admitted females 
to the succession if the males of the different lines should be- 
come exhausted ; thus introducing into these kingdoms a sort 
of mixt law which was not the French, and still less the most 
ancient law of Spain. 

" I speak on this subject with the more freedom and con- 
fidence, in as much as the Prince who is seated on the throne 
of France has given the most noble proof of wisdom and fore- 
sight by espousing without delay, and with so much decision, 
the cause of our Queen. Rising superior to family traditions,- 
ancient prejudices, and political opinions cemented by usage, 
that Monarch clearly perceived that the real interests of 
France, and even those peculiar to the present dynasty, were 
intimately connected with the triumph of the cause of the 
Queen our Sovereign; and on the very instant of receiving 
the news of the death of King Ferdinand VII., he frankly 
tendered to the august heiress of his throne the most sin- 
cere and firm support. Fiance unanimously applauded this 
noble decision of her King, and Spain will never forget this 
proof of interest in her destiny. 

" It is most extraordinary on the other hand that the treaty 
of Utrecht should he invoked by those who v^ish to support 
the desperate cause of Don Carlos ; because it is impossible 
to call to mind that treaty, without remarking certain analo- 
gies which deserve our very particular attention. In that 
treaty Spain recognised a Queen of England, as England 
now recognises a Queen of Spain ; it recognised another fe- 
male as successor, and the same case now exists in relation to 



25 

Spain ; and by a remarkable resemblance with the present 
epoch, Spain then agreed to consider as valid the exclusion 
of a branch from the throne of England (a line deprived of its 
rights to succeed to that kingdom as being incompatible with 
its institutions and its laws) and she moreover held herself 
bound in a most solemn manner to withhold any assistance, 
either by sea or land, and refuse succours, arms, or munitions, 
to such as might attempt to foster civil war and disturb the 
tranquillity of that kingdom. It is indeed difficult to find a 
treaty that presents so many strong points of resemblance 
with the events of the present day, if they are brought into 
comparison. 

" But was there any ground of national interest, any mo- 
tive of public utility, calling for the destruction of the law 
of succession, almost as ancient in Spain as the monarchy 
itself? No: in the framing of the Royal Act of Philip V. the 
good of the nation was not taken into account ; a private 
family interest was alone consulted. 

" But let me enquire now : however strong and valid, what- 
ever consideration may be given to this law of foreign origin, 
which never has taken root on our soil, how could it be pos- 
sible to dispute our right to annul it by the same means 
whereby it was adopted? If Philip V, and the Cortes of 
1713, thought themselves possessed of the right to alter the 
work of so many ages, a greater right has certainly existed 
to re-establish it. This is what was actually done in the time 
of Charles IV. by the Cortes of 1789, and this is what has 
been ratified anew by the Cortes of Madrid of the past year, 
when it recognised and swore allegiance to the eldest daugh- 
ter of Don Fernando VII. as successor to the crown of this 
kingdom. 

" Consequently, even admitting the principle that Philip 
V. and that Cortes could legally change the law of succes- 
sion, the same right certainly exists now to re-establish, the; 
law of the Partida. 

" There is no escape from this circle ; and whatever vali- 



26 

dity be granted to the Roya! Act of Philip V. (the only 
ground on which the party of the Pretender rests its preten- 
sions,) we see that it has been invalidated by succeeding laws, 
by the sovereign authority itself, with the concurrence of the 
Cortes, and the explicit assent of the nation. 

" We are not then discussing an entailed estate or a com- 
mon inheritance, we are considering the succession to a crown 
perpetuated in a family for public utility, and to ensure the 
tranquillity of these kingdoms. 

" Strange anomaly ! In the testament of Charles II., by 
which the fundamental laws of the monarchy were trampled 
under foot, a sort of homage was paid to those very laws ; 
for, in disposing of the crown as if it was his private property, 
it is there said : * Let this be as valid as if it were a law 
enacted by the general Cortes of the kingdom.' But that 
useful institution had already disappeared, and in disposing 
of the crown, scarcely was there one to whisper the name 
of Cortes. Plenepotentiaries of foreign Princes assembled in 
distant countries to decide upon the future destiny of Spain, 
and to share her spoils as they would divide a private estate ; 
and to such a point of degradation and deep humiliation had 
the monarchy of Charles V. fallen, that mighty empire from 
whose fragments so many States have risen, that the very 
Prince who was then ruling it, begged at Rome for reasons to 
invalidate the renunciations made by the consorts of Lewis 
XIII. and Lewis IV. On the question of the succession to 
the crown he consulted lawyers, theologists, even exorcists ; 

(what degradation !) One thing only was forgotten 

To consult the nation. 

" And I should not omit to remark, since the opportunity 
offers, that of the three Princes who then aspired to the crown 
of Spain, and sought to enforce their respective claims, (not 
excepting the Elector of Bavaria, not excepting Philip V. 
himself, who subsequently published the Royal Act, establish- 
ing the strictest agnation,) all derived their rights from 
females. 



27 

"It is then evident, palpable, that, whether we take as 
our guide the legislation of these kingdoms, or whether we 
consult their usages, their habits, or the undeviating practice 
in the succession to the crown, in no aspect under which we 
consider this most important question, does there appear the 
least shadow of right in favor of Don Carlos. 

" But what the laws establish, and especially the law of 
the Partida, is this: that the legitimate heir shall succeed to 
the crown, at the proper time, provided he has done nothing 
which ought to divest him of this right. What the laws pre- 
scribe from the earliest days of the monarchy is this : that he 
who shall aspire to usurp the crown, he who attempts to dis- 
possess the legitimate Monarch, he who unlawfully assumes 
the title of King, does thereby become guilty of the crime of 
open treason. 

" Is this the present position of Prince Don Carlos ? We 
are not now examining this question in a criminal, but merely 
in a political point of view; we must consider whether the 
bill proposed by the Government is founded in the laws of 
reason, of justice, of the well being and tranquillity of the 
Stale ; and I believe that every one will admit it to be such. 
But as it is at the same time proposed to deprive the de- 
scendants of that Prince of the eventual right which they 
might have to the crown, it becomes necessary to transfer 
the question to another ground, and to examine it in its true 
light. 

" I will not lose myself in the labyrinth of those who view 
the crown as an entailed property, to solve their intricate 
questions as to the heir to an entail, and whether he should 
or should not lose it for a crime which he has not committed. 
The kingdom is not a patrimony, nor is the crown an entail* 
It has been customary thus to speak of them, but these trans- 
fers from the civil to the political law, are not only inexact, 
but often extremely dangerous. Such is however their com- 
mon tendency that they are generally confounded in the course 
of time. Under the dominion of the feudal system, it was said 



that the crown was a great fief, and when afterwards the mania 
of entails had become prevalent, it was also said that the suc- 
cession to the crown was their very prototype. 

" It is not so; the crown is not an inheritance or an entail, 
it is the supreme dignity of the kingdom, the succession to 
which is regulated by the laws established for the utility of 
the State. The claim, the expectancy to inherit the crown is 
a political right, which cannot be put on a footing with civil 
rights, nor is it subject to the same rules. The latter only 
concerns an individual, a family ; the former ccncerns the 
State, and therefore a principle superior to all must be here 
respected, the principle of self-preservation, which is inherent 
in society as in individuals, and authorizes it to take proper 
precautions to remove present evils, and provide against fu- 
ture dangers. 

" It is not therefore necessary, in order to approve the pro- 
posed measure, to adopt the principle of our ancient legislation 
which visits upon an innocent child the crimes of his traitor- 
ous father : humanity and philosophy have already expunged 
from many codes the sentence of confiscation, in order that 
descendants should not be punished for faults that they have 
not committed ; but we are not now discussing the infliction 
of a penalty ; we are discussing a most urgent precaution, in 
order that the fate of the State may not be left exposed to 
great chances and imminent danger. 

"We need not seek examples in foreign nations; I will 
venture to put this question at once : what would be the fate 
of Spain if the Cortes should not approve this bill as it has 
been offered by the Government ? What might be the fate 
of this nation, not at a remote period, not at a far distant date, 
perhaps to-morrow, nay, even to-day? There are certain 
subjects of so delicate a nature that we cannot touch them 
without trembling ; but the foresight of legislators must em- 
brace every thing: such is their duty, such the imn>ense re- 
sponsibility which rests upon them. They cannot suffer the 
destiny of a nation to depend upon an accident, upon a casu- 



29 

alty ; they cannot disregard the claims of the weaker sex, of 
unprotected old age, nor even the calamitous circumstance of 
a desolating plague which gives to this discussion a more grave 
and serious aspect I 

" Not only has this rebellious Prince forfeited his eventual 
right to the succession to the crown, but also his sons, their 
heirs and all his descendants. Let them experience the la- 
mentable fate which their parents have brought down upon 
them ; for it is they, not we, who have removed them from the 
throne, in wishing to place them on it, by trampling on the 
nation and on the laws. 

" Otherwise what would be the prospect of the nation if by 
misfortune one of them should happen to inherit the throne? 
Let us admit it without hesitation; it would be most alarming 
and dangerous, and such as fortunately does not often fall to 
the lot of Monarchies; but if England had not forever expelled 
the Stuarts from her soil, if she had not deprived them of 
their rights to the crown, and even of the hope of ever recov- 
ering them, what would have been her fate ? 

" By good fortune ours is a different case, and we can de- 
liver Spain from grievous evils and dangers by only depriving 
one line of their legal aptitude to inherit the crown. Against 
the conservative principle of society all eventual rights to the 
succession avail nothing; it is indispensable to annul in a pub- 
lic and solemn manner the rights which Don Carlos and his 
heirs might allege. 

" This is the only means to disarm parties, to secure the 
liberties of the nation, to settle its future destiny. What would 
otherwise be the prospect of the most meritorious Spaniards, 
of those who now defend with so much glory the throne of 
our Queen Dona Isabel IL? — incarceration and ignominy 
would be their recompense; their services would be punished 
as so many crimes; and their very wounds would serve as 
proofs to condemn them to the scaffold. 

" Prince Don Carlos by unfurling the standard of rebellion 
has authorized the nation to look to its own safety. And this 



30 

is one of the reasons which must influence the Cortes, and 
first this illustrious body; this is another reason, I repeat, to 
deprive Prince Don Carlos and his sons of the last ray of 
hope. This measure is just, it is necessary : the ambition of a 
rebellious Prince must not endanger a State. It is not sufficient 
that Don Carlos cannot succeed to the crown, agreeably to the 
fundamental laws sworn to by the nation, but it is indispensable 
that his offspring also should be effectually excluded. What 
pledges, what security, would there be for our laws, for our 
institutions, under their government ? We have just recover- 
ed them ; shall we now expose them to destruction ? 

" No ; it is not to be feared : your decision will be worthy 
of your dignity, of your oath?, of the example of your fore- 
fathers. 

The Duke de Rivas : — " On seeing me take the floor against 
the report of the Committee, I trust that none of those that 
hear me will suppose that I am about to attack the main 
point of this question. I also flatter myself that my hon- 
orable colleagues, the members of the Committee, will appre- 
hend no very vigorous opposition on my part, since there is 
nothing against which to direct it, after the sound and lu- 
minous principles embodied in their report. My intention is 
simply to offer some slight remarks, both on the report of the 
(/ommittee, and on the communication of the Government 
which has given rise to it ; and I may say that I have risen, 
not with a view to any opposition, but to consider the man- 
ner in which this momentous question has been presented 
to the deliberation of this body. 

"This grave and all important subject presents three points 
of view entirely different from each other: — 1st. It may be 
considered as a litigation between two opposite parties, lay- 
ing claim to an inheritance, and resting their pretentions on 
the existing laws. I2d. As a criminal cause on which there 
must be a verdict followed by a sentence, and the infliction of 
a penalty previously determined by law. 3d. As a great 
political question, as a most extraordinary case in which the 



31 

nation must deprive of all its rights a branch of its dynasty, 
because it is in open opposition to the public interest. 

" The latter is the only aspect under which we ought to ex- 
amine this difficult question : the other two come within the 
cognizance of civil and criminal courts, and as a representa- 
tive, deliberative and legislative body, we could not examine 
them without exceeding our legitimate powers. Therefore 
to connect this question with the written law, is to give it a 
certain air of process, which is in no manner suitable to this 
body ; it is to destroy it and render null our decisions. 

" We are not judges, we are legislators ; it is not our pro- 
vince to pronounce sentence, but to enact laws ; those who 
are called upon to pronounce judgements must do it in ac- 
cordance with laws previously established; those who make 
laws cannot be guided by another law, but only by the first 
of all laws, the national interest and the public convenience. 
Resting on these principles, which are the same which the 
Committee has adopted, I would have wished that in its 
report, at the same time that it wisely omits all citations 
of law, it should also have curtailed somewhat its reference 
to precedents, and that it should have dwelt more upon 
the dangers that threaten the security of the State and 
the peace and tranquillity of these kingdoms, if Don Carlos 
and all his descendants be not excluded from the succession 
to the crown. I believe that the Committee has adopted 
this course solely to make more apparent to the nation and 
to this body that which they may expect from a Prince 
who has pursued such a line of conduct. 

*'I will cheerfully pay a tribute of praise and also of the most 
sincere thanks to the Government of Her Majesty, for the 
promptitude, the good faith, the candour, the courage, the 
intrepidity with which they have presented to the Cortes 
this most vital question : I will also give my approbation to the 
manner in which they sustain it; I will likewise approve the 
quotations of laws which are so properly insertod in their ex- 
position; that is to say, I will support them if they are intended 



32 

to prove that the conduct of the Government towards this 
Prince, since the demise of the King, his brother, has been legal 
and free from all censure ; but I will disapprove these same ci- 
tations, if it be meant to give them to us as a standard for our 
decision, or as a base of the new law which is required of us. 
T consider the communication of the Government deficient 
in as much as it does not present to us the bill for this law 
already framed ; for, from this it would seem to follow that 
we are only called upon for an opinion, and that this com- 
munication is a mere consultation ; this, I fear, will render 
our debate vague and undetermined, and the Govern- 
ment being compelled subsequently to return to us this bill, 
supported by a resolution of this body to give it validity, we 
will have to begin a new discussion on this subject — which, 
although important, is very simple — and it will be exposed to 
new delays. I would therefore venture to request the honor- 
able members of the Committee to insert such a bill at the 
end of their report, since it has not been done by the Govern- 
ment in this form. It would also have been proper that the 
Government, on presenting their bill on the exclusion to 
the crown, should have accompanied it, in order to fix the 
future destiny of the monarchy, by another law of succession, 
specifying in a clear and conclusive manner the lines which 
are to succeed by reason of the exclusion of Don Carlos, 
as, by adopting such a course, we might perhaps preserve 
our posterity from such another testament as that of Charles 
II. and from other bloody wars of succession. 

"Having made these slight observations relative to the re- 
port of the Committee, and on the communication of the 
Government, I will now enter into the merits of the question, 
and sustain with all my efforts what is proposed by the 
Government and supported by the Committee : although I 
yerily believe, gentlemen, that no great effort will be requir- 
ed, as piiblic utility, which ought to be the sole guide of the 
decisions of thig body, loudly dictates what our resolution 
must be. 



33 

" I do not wish to consider this unfortunate Prince, nor 
would I wish him to be considered by this body, as a sub- 
ject in disobedience to his King, as a vassal in rebellion 
against his Sovereign, as an ambitious man stirring up va- 
grants and malefactors, and plunging his unhappy country 
into all the horrors of a civil war; but 1 will simply con- 
sider him as the ally of Don Miguel; as the representative 
of the Holy Alliance ; as the chief of a party most adverse 
to the prosperity of this ill-fated nation; of a party which, 
as it has been justly observed by the honorable Secretary 
who has preceded me, not only wishes to establish in 
Spain the reign of ignorance, of monopoly, of fanaticism, 
and of the inquisition, but also to extend the same over all 
Europe, throwing her back to the dark epoch of the tenth 
century ; of a party which is striving to found a barbarous 
throne, and a sacrilegious and savage priesthood, surrounded 
by rivers of blood and mountains of human bodies, on the 
grave of modern civilization. 

"Where is then the Spaniard, loving his country, know- 
ing and deploring the evils which for so many years have 
been defacing and destroying her fair soil, who can for an 
instant doubt the necessity of excluding this wretched 
Prince, whom the civilized world looks down upon with loath- 
ing, and who is only sustained by that party that would fain 
build its own fortunes on universal misery and the ruins of 
their country? 

" To dwell as long as I might on this subject, would be to 
abuse too much the attention of this body. The question under 
consideration is a most grave one, and involves two impor- 
tant points : first, The exclusion of the Infante Don Carlos 
from the crown ; secondly, The exclusion of his posterity 
from all right to the Spanish throne. As to the first, I 
imagine that no doubt exists, and I also am of opinion that as 
little can exist in relation to the second. The Secretary has 
sufficiently demonstrated it by a series of arguments, of which 

I shall have to avail myself, as none could be found more to 

■ 



34 

the point : however as there may be some persons over timid, 
and others who, noi being fully acquainted with this ques- 
tion, do not foresee the fatal results of the rejection of this 
measure, it is proper clearly to point them out. 

" The greatest part of those who arc here assembled have 
children — have heirs ; but a question of so much importance, 
of so much transcendency, is not subject to common rules, 
and in its discussion all natural aflections must be silenced, 
and calm reason should be our only guide. 

" Sensibility and compassion are natural to noble souls and 
generous hearts. — But in the present case latet unguis in her- 
ha, and the indulgence of these sentiments might be fatal to 
our children, and forge for our descendants chains of disasters 
and calamities. 

*' An event so extraordinary as that which is at present 
occupying our attention, is not however new ; it has already 
occurred in Spain and in other countries, and has been de- 
cided upon ; consequently it has its established rule which is 
as follows : — That Roijal families, in all that regards the suc- 
cession, cantwt, i?i any manner, he considered as private families 
in relation to the succession of private inheritances. This is a 
principle of eternal truth, which the Government and the 
Committee have brought forward, and it is a principle which 
we must keep in view in our decision : for it is evident that 
if a son of mine, whether stupid or intelligent, ignorant or 
clever, should inherit a farm, a house, or an olive grove, 
no evil can result to society, nor is it thereby placed in 
any danger ; but the case is very different when the 
supreme power is exercised on principles contrary to the 
interest of the nation. The heirs imbibe the opinions of 
their parents, they acquire a portion of their habits and 
customs ; and who can doubt that this will be the case with 
the children of Don Carlos ? If they should happen one day 
to occupy the throne of Spain, would they not consider it 
as a heinous offence, as a most horrid crime, that their fa- 
ther had been disinherited ? Let it not be said that misfor- 



35 

tunes and the lapse of years can soften the temper of Princes : 
history and recent experience clearly prove the contrary. 

"Let it not be forgotten, gentlemen, that the glory and 
prosperity of the State, affirmed by our re-established laws, 
will in future depend upon the fragile existence of two inno- 
cent girls; and it is our duty to provide conclusively for the 
future, and not to risk the existence of the monarchy, as 
might be the case should we, from a mistaken compassion, 
adopt a precipitate decision. VV^e should one day be respon- 
sible for having, through our culpable want of foresight, ren- 
dered of no avail the wisdom and magnanimity with which 
our Queen Regent has re-established the ancient rights and 
privileges of our country, the efforts which all good Spaniards 
are now making to heal her wounds, and the torrents of 
blood which our gallant army is at this moment shedding on^ 
the rough mountains of Navarre, in defence of our legitimate 
rights and of our liberty. 

" Besides wevvould place the nation in a most difficult po- 
sition, if by a misfortune, which although improbable, is still 
possible. Heaven should take from us these two tender 
pledges, without our having come to a proper decision, 
since the sons of Don Carlos might possibly then reach the 
throne. In that case we would put the nation in the hard 
dilemma, either to repel a legitimate King to preserve its lib- 
erty, or to renounce its liberty to surrender itself, not to the 
mercy, but to the vengance of a Prince educated by persons 
whom we all know, and whose names I will forbear to pro- 
nounce in this august Hall, lest I might thereby profane if. 
This is not all ; unless all hopes be taken from Don Carlos and 
his descendants we cannot put an end to the civil war; nor 
could we to a certain extent criminate the defenders and par- 
tisans of the presumptive heirs to the crown. 

That the crown is not an entail, nor the nation any man's 
patrimony, is a truth so self evident that it would be an insult 
to the good sense of this body to pretend to demonstrate it. 
The Committee has established it triumphantly, and it de- 



3G 

duces from it the power possessed by the nation to deprive 
of the throne an entire branch of its dynasty, wiien public 
convenience so requires it. This power has often been exerci- 
sed in Spain and the Committee prove it by examples from 
our history. 

" It might also have mentioned the Cortes of Segovia of 
1272, who gave the crow n to Don Sancho the Brave during 
the life of his father, Don Alfonso the Wise, and also in pre- 
judice of the Infantes de la Cerda; and not only were the 
latter excluded, but also all their posterity. Mariana in 
relating this important event makes use of this remark :— > 

* Whether they acted agreeably to right is not known nor 

* is it necessary to examine it ; it is however certain that the 

* consideration of the general w^elfare and of the tranquillity 

* of the kingdom then prevailed.' — Remarkable words which 
ought not to be forgotten during the course of the present 
discussion. 

"The famous compromise of Caspe in the year 1411, 
might also have been cited, in which nine deputies from 
Aragon, Catalonia, and Valentia, united in order to determine 
to whom belonged the crown of Aragon, and decided in favour 
of Don Fernando, rejecting the Count of Urgel and all his pos- 
terity. The speech or sermon of St. Vincent Ferrer at the 
closing of the session, and on which he grounded his opinion 
and his vote, is well worthy of our attention ; it contains the 
following among other matter : — "We must elect as King, 
" him who will offer the best security for the happiness of the 
" people, and show the greatest attachment to the rights and 
" priveleges of the kingdom ;" a maxim so applicable to the 
present instance that it seems to be the only one that should 
guide our decision. 

" But if such examples be rejected on account of their refer- 
ring to semi-barbarous ages, I will bring forward others from 
modern times and taken from the records of the two greatest 
nations of Europe, which we most always keep in view^ if we 
wish to pursue the right path to our political regeneration. 



37 

h\ England in 1688, in that period which tiic Enghsn ^.ui 
their glorious revolution, James II. with all his j)osterity was 
expelled from the throne, and the Prince of Orange was pro- 
clamed in his stead. From that time dated her great prospe- 
rity, that information which we all admire in that classic land 
of judicious liberty, of patriotism, and of every species of 
public and private virtue. 

" In modern France we have seen a similar event : scarcely 
four years have elapsed since she drove from the throne 
Charles X., the Duke of Angouleme, the Duke of Bordeaux, 
and all their descendants, because they were the enemies of 
her national laws, and could not cease to be so ; and in their 
places, and to sustain and improve those laws, she sea;. .1 on 
the throne the branch of Orleans, hdI on account, bin in 
spite of their being members of the oonrliOi; family, as it was 
wisely observed by a celebrated jurisf, ; 'ery distinguished 
representative of that favoured nation. 

" It being then most clearly demonstrated that the Cas- 
tillians in very remote times, the Aragonese at a less dis- 
tant period, the English in modern times, and the French in 
our own days, M'hen placed in similar circumstances with 
ours, have uniformly removed their bad Princes and their 
posterity from the throne for the preservation of the public 
tranquillity, what doubt can there exist in relation to our 
own course ? 

" It is undoubtedly most painful, gentlemen, painful to 
me and to all those who hear me, that a Spanish Prince 
should have placed us in this terrible situation : a decen- 
dant of the great Henry IV. of France, a grandchild of the 
good Charles III., the son of the honest and mild Charles 
IV., it is indeed most painful that he has placed us in the 
necessity of adopting against him such a severe measure. 
But it has become indispensable, in order to protect the le- 
gitimate throne, and insure the liberty, the laws, and the 
repose of our posterity, that we should raise a brazen 
wall between the throne of Spain and Don Carlos and his 
posterity." 



38 

" Mr. Garcia Herreros observed tliat the Committee had 
purposely omitted citing the written law or resting its report 
thereon, in as much as that had already been done by the 
Government in its exj)osition made for the purpose of inform- 
ing the Cortes on this subject, and showing them that this was 
the course which the nation had always pursued in like cases ; 
that if the Committee had presented its report in this shape, it 
was in order that the grounds on which it rested might be 
apparent on the face of the rej)ort itself, and that it had been 
inevitable for the Committee so to present it, under the cir- 
cumstances of the case; he concluded by saying that the 
motives on which the Committee had rested its argument 
were those of public utility. 

Count Torreno.—-'' It was my intention not to have occu- 
pied the floor in support of the bill, such as it has been pre- 
sented by the Government, because I thought that on a sub- 
ject in which all good Spaniards agree, and in which the 
Government itself is as nmch interested as the nation, no 
difference of opinion could exist, nor could the question be 
viewed but in one light. But after the observations which 
have just been made by his Excellency the Duke de Rivas, I 
am compelled to say a few w^ords to explain the motives w hich 
have induced the Government to present this bill to the Cortes 
in the manner that it has been done. 

" Two faults have been noticed by the illustrious member 
in this bill : the first was, that it did not exclude in a clear 
and precise manner the posterity of Don Carlos from all right 
to the crown — and the second, that it did not determine the 
line or branch of the dynasty which was to occupy the throne 
if, by some misfortune, we should be deprived of the daughters 
of King Feidinand VII. 

"As to the first, it seems to me ihat the bill could not be 
more explicit: it says, ' that the Infante Don Carlos Maria 
* Isidro de Borbon y Borbon, and all his line, shall be excluded 
' from the right to succeed to the crown of Spain.' The 
Government thought that nothing more could be said, — and 



39 

how could any thing more be added, when it includes not only 
the Prince as the head of the family, but also all his discen- 
tlants ? 

*' As to the other omission adverted to, of not having ex- 
pressed the branch that ought to succeed to the crown in the 
absence of the august daughters of Ferdinand VII — the Go- 
vernment have absolutely abstained from mentioning the sub- 
ject, because they considered it imprudent and unnecessary. 
It would be imprudent, because there is not a Spaniard who 
is not acquainted with the laws of succession to the crown of 
Spain since their re-establishment by the Cortes of 1789, and 
their ^succeeding confirmation by the general vote of the 
nation, whenever it has been able to express it through its re- 
presentatives. It was unnecessary to insert it>jn the bill, be- 
cause it is perfectly evident, that according to those laws, 
and in the failure of the two daughters of King Ferdinand 
VII, the nearest line would be called to the throne, passing 
over that of Don Carlos, as it will have been excluded by all 
the powers of the State. Why then bring forward questions 
in relation to the succession, when every body knows what 
course would be pursued in case of such a fatal occurrence ? 
Since I now occupy this floor, I cannot but add that this 
most delicate question, which the Government has offered to 
the decision of the illustrious body that I am now addressing, 
has been determined on, not only by the Government itself 
but also by the Committee, resting principally on the justice 
of the cause, on public utility, and on political necessity, in the 
same manner as it has been decided in Spain on similar pre- 
vious occasions. In all instances females have succeded in the 
failure of males, and we see constant examples of Princes ex- 
cluded from the throne for an abuse of power, from the mon- 
archy of the Goths to our own days. — This principle, estab- 
lished in those remote times, and successively confirmed by 
custom, is enrolled in the law of the Partida. 

*" But such is the force of custom that, when in the time of 
Philip V. they succeeded, by dint of intrigues and address, of 



40 

winch the Miirqiiis dc 8. Felipe speaks at length, in repealing 
that law and in substituting in its stead the Royal Act, or new 
rule of succession, many difficulties were encountered. The 
Cortes would not at first admit it, nor theConcil of Castille, 
and the first example was given by the Council of State, 
through the management and influence of Dr. Luis Curiel. 

"The law o(Partida being re-established in 1789, without the 
slightest opposition, it was equally recognised by the Cortes 
of 1810; and although the latter contained deputies from Pro- 
vinces so distant and so disinct from each other as at that 
time composed the Spanish Monarchy, this law, if I recol- 
lect right, was passed without a dissenting vote; consequently, 
at every epoch that the nation has been able freely to mani 
fest its opinion, it has acknowledged the right of succession 
of females in the absence of males — and the latter have been 
excluded whenever they have been considered as injurious 
to the general welfare. 

"I cannot forbear to relate what happened to Suintila, 
although of the first Gothic dynasty. Being already expelled 
from the throne, his disgrace was confirmed by the fourth 
council of Toledo, composed not exclusively of prelates and 
priests, but also of the Lords and nobility of the kingdom, 
and not only was Suintila excluded from the throne but like- 
wise his'son Rechimiro, and his brother Agilano, and the rea- 
son given was public utility and his misgovernment. 

" In the same manner the Infantes de la Cerda in the time 
of Alonso the Wise, were entirely excluded from the succes- 
sion of the Kingdom. This was declared in an assembly 
which was held in Toledo, and where Don Lope de Haro 
spoke first, and was followed by the Infante Don Manuel whose 
remarkable discourse on that occasion has been preserved 
in the chronicle of King Don Alonso. The Cortes of Segovia 
affirmed and validated the judgement of the Junto of Toledo, 
acknowledging Sancho the Brave as the heir to the crown. 
The laws of Spain so conclusive on this head, as well as the 
decisions of its Cortes, have been quoted both by the Govern- 



41 

ment and by the Committee, as it has been observed by Mr 
Garcia Herreros; not that they were indipensable to a decision 
in the present case, but merely to show that what is proposed 
now is what has always been practiced in Spain. It is not 
however correct as affirmed by an Honorable member that 
the English disposessed the whole dynasty of the Stuarts: 
James II. and his son were alone excluded. The House of 
Corr-mons was the first to decree the expulsion of James II. 
and his descendant ; the House of Lords only decreed that of 
James II., without wishing to extend it to his son. In con- 
sequence of this the two Houses had such conferences as are 
usual in such cases in that country, and the exclusion of the 
line of James II. was finally concurred in by the Lords, 
taking as their only ground a regard to public interest ; be- 
cause the son of James 11. inheriting ideas, \\ould also 
imbibe iiis hatred against the State, and his accession to the 
throne would prove a public calamity. 

"In more modern times, in our own days, a similar event 
has taken place in Russia, the nation probably most adverse 
to certain principles. — It happened in that country but a few 
years since, that the grand Duke Constantine renounced the 
crown of his own accord, it being evident that this renun- 
ciation extended to any descendants that he might have, in as 
much as his brother and his leniage were called to occupy 
the throne. 

" This question must moreover be viewed as one of political 
necessit)^; it is not simply a question of dynasty but a ques- 
tion of civilization. If Don Carlos should reign in Spain, 
she would very soon retrograde to the ages of barbarism. 
For who would then grasp the reins of power? the two worst 
and most dangerous classes of society ; namely : the low and 
uninformed clergy, and needy adventurers ; the two classes 
who feel the least interest in the real welfare of the nation: 
the enlightened, the powerful have all, with very rare ex- 
ceptions, pronounced themselves for our Queen Dona Isabel 11. 
If this be doubted let us cast our eyes around this House, 



42 

and we shall here see the most distinguished men of Spain in 
arms, in letters, and in rank; and who can doubt the fate that 
would fall upon these classes, upon such illustrious indi- 
viduals, if the party of Don Carlos should come into power in 
Spain. 

"And if motives of justice, of public utility, of politi- 
cal necessity, which have been brought forward, should not 
in themselves suffice, or be considered of adequate importance, 
we would add another motive, springing from a noble senti- 
ment, the sentiment of gratitude, a cord that always vibrates 
in a Spanish bosom ; for to the name of Isabel II., to the gene- 
rous concessions of her august Mother Dona Maria Cristina 
de Borbon, Queen Regent, are we indebted for our being here 
assembled, and for the solid foundation which has just been 
laid for the noble edifice of our national prosperity.'' 

Mr. Cano Manuel. — " My heart is rejoiced to behold this 
body assembled in this august hall, at the summons of our 
illustrious Queen Regent, who has caused our ancient laws 
to sound in unison with the hopes of her people. In the ses- 
sion in which we are this day engaged, the Government and 
the Committee have presented the question in its true 
light — by frankly exhibiting the ill-advisd Prince, both in his 
character of a subject, and, subsequently to the death of his 
brother, in his self-assumed character of King. I do not, as 
the Government has done, consider this subject under a poli- 
tical aspect, and I have not therefore expressly risen to oppose 
the report of the Committee, for I concur in its views, but 
only to make a few obervations : — 

*' It is undeniable that under the first point of view the un- 
fortunate Prince, as a subject of his King, has been guilty of 
the conduct exposed by t'je Committee and by the Govern- 
ment ; it appears that the plan was not a personal one, but be- 
longed to the party ; so it is said by the Government in one of 
the paragraphs of its exposition" (he then read it) " and the 
Committee, either of its own accord, or founding itself on 
documents which it mav have had in view, and to which it 



43 

refers, adopts the same opinion, as it expresses it in the second 
paragraph of its report;" (which he read.) " The Committee 
states that these are the facts on which it grounds its report 
and that although it would have wished to have consulted 
other documents, these no longer existed ; for, through a 
fatality which seems to preside over our destiny, those pa- 
pers, which contained the most conclusive proofs of the plan 
of conspiracy, had fallen into improper hands. 

The Committee here pronounces a positive judgment ; for 
when it speaks of plans to accomplish this criminal purpose 
it also, states that overt attempts have been made against the 
rights of succession. It is said that persons were charged 
with their execution, and that others had in different ways 
become accomplices : and all this is presented to the consi- 
deration of this body, in order that it may take cognizance 
of the crime. 

" I could wish that the Committee would inform us whether, 
in the absence of the documents which have been lost, it pos- 
sesses sufficient grounds on which to aver such positive facts ; 
and whether it must then be understood that to this body has 
been submitted for its examination, not only the conduct of 
the ill advised Prince, since the death of his brother, but 
whether we must also take cognizance of the acts which 
preceded that event : these acts are stated by the Govern- 
ment, and by the Committee, to have been in the course of 
accomplishment since the year 1824, and to have been di- 
rected not only to secure his right of succession to the throne, 
but also, as has been said by Ilis Excellency the Secretary' of 
State, to plot and contrive against the actual occupant cf the 
throne. It consequently seems to me that all here assembled 
will find themselves embarassed in forming an opinion by 
reason of their want of acquaintance with the facts relative 
to the conduct of the Prince. 

" I would be pleased to learn if the Committee has had be- 
fore it any documents, when it speaks of these facts in a posi- 
tive manner, and if it knows what are the documents which 
have been abstracted. 



44 

" In regard to the political part of the question, I see a 
disobedient and rebellious subject ; I find him in a foreign 
country, without knowing whether he removed to it by vir- 
tue of a permission, or as an exile; he receives an order to 
proceed to the Papal domiiiions and he disregards it ; posi- 
tive fM'ders are communicated to him to acknowledge Her 
Majesty the Queen, and swear allegiance to her as heiress 
to the crown, and he protests, saying that it would be incom- 
patible with his conscience, without considering that it is no 
excuse to act in accordance with an il!-regulated conscience, 
whilst he disobeys that which his duty as a subject imperi- 
ously prescribes. The death of his brother was foHovi'ed 
by the great political crime; the desertion of his country, 
his apostacy, his declaring himself the enemy of the nation, 
exercising open acts of sovereignty and tearing asunder 
the connection between the nation and his Sovereign ; he 
then excites a civil war and attempts to violate one of our 
fundamental laws by which Dona Isabel IL is recognised as 
the legitimate successor of her father, thereby endeavoring 
to dissolve the bonds of society by every means in his power. 
" The laws of the Partida which have been quoted, 
and which cannot be sufficiently extolled, if we consider 
the epoch in which they were published, have treated in 
an extensive and minute manner upon the maxims of 
general safety, and upon the most perfect public law. — 
The Law 2nd, title 19th, of the same code speaks of the 
rights of the Spanish people and of the King. I will not 
quote it that I may not unnecessarily fatigue the attention 
of this body, but it first requires that the King shall pro- 
tect the people from themselves, from die King himself and 
from foreigners ; and the people must protect the King against 
the people, against himself and against foreigners. The 
mode in which this protection must be effected is explained 
in the most definite inanner, pointing out the only means 
which can save the nation and saying that, if it be not car- 
ried into effect, its ruin must sooner or later become inevi- 
table. 



45 

" Our present difficulties spring from a cause whose origin 
is perfectly well known. It has been said that when a nation 
like ours regulates the succession to the throne, those who are 
called to that succession become possessed of a riglit. — This 
expression, which ought to be repudiated, is the root of all po 
litical dissensions ; because, if this rigJit does exist, there must 
also exist a corresponding obligation to be fulfilled by the peo- 
ple; and therefore it is that certain men have assured the Prince 
that in virtue of that law^ he had a right to the throne. Every 
body knows the difference between the perpetration of a com- 
mon crime and that of a political crime. In the first there is 
consciousness and will : a man considers it to be an evil act 
to steal, yet his will leads him to it, and, after the crime 
has been proven, society, with a view to its own interest, 
protects itself against the perpetrator. But the same is not 
the case with regard to political crimes : the pi'otection of 
the King is entrusted to the nation, and if she be attacked 
there is a connexion between the understanding and the will, 
because there are men who counsel the Prince that by vir- 
tue of a law he has a right to be King, and this reciprocal as- 
sent of the understanding and the will being susperadded to 
the feelings of self-love — feelings which so often blind man- 
kind — is abundantly sufficient to lead the Prince to regard 
with great complacency a category of this class. Hence the 
origin of this blunder. There exists no right, but simply 
a legal aptitude which does not amount to a right until a 
nation, impelled by the same motives which have obliged it 
to determine the laws of succession, agrees to recognise the 
immediate successor. From that time he becomes possessed 
of a right and is connected with the nation ; for, although he 
does not yet reign, his person is already looked upon with 
positive respect, and as in a manner inviolable. 

" I have never been of opinion that such a right did exist, 
and His Excellency the Secretary of State has used the word 
eligibility as the only thing that could be claimed. Expe- 
rience should make us cautious, and I would commit an 



46 

offence against this body were I to contradict what has been 
said by the Secretary in relation to the state of the nation in 
the time of Charles 11. It was in an enfeebled state, and on 
the pfoint of falling a victim to a partition which was anx- 
iously desired by two great powers. That Monarch, an 
Austrian in his heart, and a Bourbon merely from political 
motives, saw himself pressed by the French and Austrian 
embassadors, in a manner that when the former thought him- 
self on the point of extorting a declaration in favour of his 
master, the other objected that thewill of the Cortes had 
not been consulted, and when the Austrian thought him- 
self on the point of obtaining his end the same difficulty 
was opposed by the other. I need not observe that every 
body was called upon for an opinion except the nation. 
Theologians wereconsulted, the court of Rome was consulted, 
and the succession to the crown was looked upon as a mere 
family concern. So it was viewed by Philip V. and by the 
Marquis de S. Felipe, although the latter, notwithstanding 
that he was a Philipist at heart, could not help exposing in 
his commentaries the work of iniquity which was then done 
by abandoning the immemorial custom established for similar 
cases. What right had Philip V. to destroy this custom, 
even though he had himself reached the throne through a vi- 
olation of this same lav/ 1 

"In the exposition of the Government, mention is made of 
the law of emails. I do not intend to fatigue the attention of 
this body, but an entail and a crown are two very different 
things. The crown is a trust, and a very serious trust, a 
trust which must not be acted upon except in pursuance of 
the nation's will ; and therefore to view it as a personal patri- 
mony is a manifest contradiction, and such a position is not 
tenable. But allow me the following observation : the pos- 
sessor of an entail has no other trust but to take care of the 
property and keep it entire for his successors ; but the trust of 
a King is of a much more important and serious nature. The 
laws have regulated the succession of paternal inheritances, 



47 

but it is impossible to identify these laws with rules which 
regulate the succession to the crown. 

" Upon these principles ! think that the Prince has by his 
conduct incurred the penalty imposed by the law. But I 
would wish that the words jyvMic convenience might be 
struck from the reasons given for disinheriting the Prince ; 
for the nation may enforce its rights without assigning this 
reason. Tiie revolted provinces might also give their public 
convenience as their reason. The nation throws itself upon 
its own rights whenever it sees its compact dissolved and its 
fundamental laws violently assailed. 

" The principle being acknowledged that a Prince can be 
excluded, if it be not thought proper that he should reign, 
although he may have a right to the crown, I will now an- 
swer an observation which has been made respecting the 
punishment which is inflicted on the children ; and I will for 
this purpose make use of the laws of the Partidas which 
regulate the succession." (He then read them.) " Here 
the House will see the renovation of the compact between 
the throne and the nation. By this law the nation, in con- 
junction with the King, must decide the question whether a 
Prince possesses a right, and whether he shall reign or not, 
whilst, instead of aiding the Spaniards in protecting their 
King, he is the cause of their shedding each others blood 
in a civil war which he has excited. I am of opinion that 
we must be guided by this law in adopting a political mea- 
sure. In this law I see the firmest foundation for our deter- 
mination in this case ; but I think that common laws ought 
never to be applied to him who is innocent; for how can he 
be made to share the penalty ? In the present case it is a 
very great misfortune that the sons of the Prince should suf- 
fer: but as great and virtuous actions are recompensed by 
adequate rewards, so, in order to guard against great crimes, 
it is necessary that they should be visited with serious and 
awful consequences. It is a philosophical truth that when- 
ever the danger and severity of the penalty does not more 



48 

than counterbalance the advantages to be expected from a 
crime, the law becomes inefficient. Thus we every day wit- 
ness that a young unmarried man who is insulted takes im- 
mediate satisfaction by appealing to such means as he thinks 
adequate to avenge the offence, but if a married man is insul- 
ted he thinks of his children and forgets his revenge. 

"I cannot but approve the report of the Committee, when 
I shall have been satisfied as to the objections which I have 
made; but the subject under discussion has appeared to 
me of too delicate a nature not to require the greatest pos- 
sible clearness and precision. This is a legislative mea- 
sure which is intended not only for the present time but for 
ever; and when the acts of this House shall be registered, 
and a collection of facts and documents shall be invoked to 
show that attempts have been made against the succession, 
it is desirable that an accurate idea may be formed of the 
disadvantageous position of the Government and of the diffi- 
culties of this House, both having united to heal the wounds 
of the nation, to restore to their homes thousands of victims 
of the last nine years, and to terminate the cruel civil war in 
which we are so unhappily placed. 

" I cannot conclude without adverting to the necessity of 
precision in the manner of expressing opinions: these are 
very delicate subjects, as it has been said by the Government, 
and the throne may be shaken even when we intend to 
strengthen it. When the British nation drove James II. 
from the throne, it was well known that he had conspired 
against her liberty, and that the compact between the nation 
and the King was therefore disolved ; but as danger was ap- 
prehended from making such a declaration, it was declared 
that he had renounced the crown. With a view to this I re- 
peat that we ought to be cautious in the use of terms, and 
decide in accordance to the report of the Committee. 

Mr. Garcia Herreros: — " The Committee has not perfect- 
ly understood the idea of the Honourable Member who has 
just taken his seat, respecting the documents which would 



49 

prove the crime of Don Carlos, and therefore it would 
wish that he should explain." 

Mr. Cano Manuel : — '* The Committee has spoken of docu- 
ments abstracted or concealed, and it asserts the proposition 
that from them would result the proof to which it alludes." 

Mr. Garcia Herreros : — " This is not exact ; the Commit- 
tee has averred nothing; it was the Government in its mes- 
sage who made the assertion, as may be seen by its perusal." 
(he then read) " Let the Honourable Member, besides, bear 
in mind what His Excellency the Secretary said a short 
time since, and he will there find an answer much more ex- 
plicit than it would be in the power of the Committee to give. 
It was to that epoch and to the abstraction of documents that 
the Secretary alluded when he said that the Government 
committed a political suicide. — And it was so in fact, for by 
that act it deprived itself of the documents which proved 
the criminal attempts made in Catalonia, Guadalaxara, and 
other places; documenis which no one has ever seen since. 
His Excellency has also said that the nation had been 
scandalized at the conduct of the Government at the time, 
and that was more than the Committee could have said. 
The Committee believed, and the result has confirmed that 
belief, that in the discussion before this body the subject 
would be much more fully investigated than it was in its 
power to do it, and on that account it has observed a kind 
of prudent reserve in order to leave a larger field for the de- 
bate ; moreover we are all persuaded thai those documents 
would contain minute details of the conspiracy against the 
King and the nation, formed as far back as nine years ago. 
As to who are the persons who have concealed or extracted 
them, and whether they are in or out of the kingdom, we have 
not been informed by the Government, nor is it known." 

Mr. Cano Manuel : — "I am fully satisfied, and I am happy 
to say that the discussion has cleared up this important 
point by showing to the nation, that for more than nine years 
the evils which she now feels have been preying upon her, 



50 

and that the Government of that time placed itself, of its 
own accord, in a most disadvantageous position." 

The President directed that the question should be asked 
whether any Honourable Member wished to occupy the 
floor, and no one having risen, His Excellency the Secreta- 
ry Marquis de Guadalcazar requested of the House that 
to the proposition of the Government which had been ap- 
proved by the Committee should be added the proposition of 
the Council, that Don Carlos and his descendants should not 
be permitted to return to Spain. 

Mr. Garcia Hen^eros stated that the Committee had no 
objection to its being adopted, and several members sup- 
ported it. 

It was then again asked whether any Honourable Mem- 
ber desired to speak, and no one answering, the discussion 
was closed agreeably to the 5Gth act of the regulations, 
which was read. 

It was moved that the vote on the report of the Committee 
should be viva voce, and there being a division of opinion as 
to whether the report should be voted jointly with the addi 
tion adopted by the Committee, it was finally agreed that 
they should be voted separately. 

A discussion arose on the wording of the pending resolu- 
tion, and the Marquis de Espeja objected to the use of the 
words eventual rights of the Infante Don Carlos, for he had 
never had any rights but only hopes, since the right to the 
crown could only be given by the oath of allegiance to him 
as Prince of Asturias. 

Mr. Garcia Herreros replied that this was precisely what 
was meant by eventual rights, but that he had no objection to 
its being expressed otherwise. 

Finally it was agreed that the resolution which was about 
to be voted should be worded as follows : — " The House 
of Proceres of the kingdom declares Don Carlos Maria Isidro 
de Borbon y Borbon and all his descendants excluded for ever 
from the succession to the crown of Spain." 



51 

The Marquis de Espeja requested that absent members 
should be permitted to send in their votes, and it was so de- 
cided. 

At this time the session was for a short time suspended, 
owing to the President leaving the hall, and on his resuming 
his seat the votes were taken. 

When this was completed, it appeared that the report of 
the Committee was adopted by seventy-one votes out of seven- 
two members present; His Excellency Count de Taboada 
having abstained from voting, availing himself of the privi- 
lege which the rules of the House conferred on him. 

The following were the members present who voted : — 
Their Excellencies Marquis de Albaida, Marquis de Al- 
canices, Don Vicente Ramos Garcia, Bishop elect of Almeria, 
(who sent his vote in writing being prevented by indisposition 
from attending in person,) Don Juan Alvarez Guerra, Mar- 
quis de las Amarillas, Don Miguel Ricardo de Alava, Duke 
de Bailen, Bishop of Barcelona, Don Eusebio Barbaji, Duke 
de Berwick, (who sent in his vote in writing owing to indispo- 
sition,) Don Javier de Burgos, Marquis de la Candelaria 
de Yarayabo, Don Antonio Cano Manuel, Duke de Castro- 
terreno. Count de Clavijo, Bishop of Cordoba, Don Ramon 
Gil de la Cuadra, Don Jose de Cafranga, Count de Cervel- 
lon, Marquis de Espeja, Don Martin Fernandez de Navar- 
rete, Patriarch of the Indies, Don Manuel Garcia Herreros, 
Don Tomas Gonzalez Carvajal, (who sent in his vote being 
indisposed,) Count Gonzalez de Castejon, Bishop Don Pedro 
Gonzalez Vallejo, Duke de Gor, Marquis de Guadalcazar, 
Count de Guaqui, Duke de Hijar, Count de Humanes, Bishop 
of Huesca, Don Justo Maria Ibar Navarro, Don Ramon 
Lopez Pelegrin, Bishop of Lugo, Marquis de Malpica, Don 
Antonio Martinez, DukedeMedinaceli, Archbishop of Mexi- 
co, Marquis de Moncayo, Marquis de Monreal y Santiago, 
Count de Onate, Don Joaquin Navarro Sangran, Count de 
Monterron, Duke de Noblejas, Count de Ofalia, Count de 
Parsent, Don Ignacio de la Pezuela, Count de Pinofiel, Bishop 






52 

Don Antonio Posadas, Don Jose Maria Puig, Count de 
Priegue, Count de Punonrostro, Count de Pino Hermoso, 
Don Manuel Jose Quintana, Duke de Rivas, Count de 
Salvatierra, Marques de S. Felices, Duke de S. Lorenzo, 
Marques de S. Martin de Hombreiros, Count de S. Roman, 
Count de Santa Ana, Marquis de S. Cruz, Marquis de Santa 
Cruz y S. Esteban, Count de Sastago, Duke de S. Car- 
los, Count de Teba, Don Mariano Linan, Count de Venadi- 
to, Duke de Veraguas, Don Caspar Vigodet, Count de 
Villafuertes, and Marquis of Valmediano. 

Absent members : — Their Excellencies Count de Atares, 
Archbishop of Burgos, Marquis de Camarasa, Marquis de 
Cerralbo, ('ount de Cuba and Bishop of Valladolid. 

After this the vote was taken on the following amendment, 
which had been required by several members before the 
voting commenced : " That Don Carlos and his descendants 
shall be deprived of the right of returning to the Spanish do- 
minions." 

The vote was viva voce, and the amendment was passed 
by the unanimous votes of all present, except their Excellen- 
cies Count de Taboada, and Marquis de San Martin de 
Hombrieros, who abstained from voting, in the exercise 
of the above mentioned privilege conferred on them by the 
rules of the House. 

The vote having been taken, the Duke de Rivas requested 
that since the proposition made to the House by the Marquis 
de Espeja had been agreed upon, the Chair should be autho- 
rized to give official information of it to absent members. 
This was followed by a slight debate which terminated in 
deciding that the authorization was not necessary it being 
a thing understood. 

This debate being concluded, the President said that due 
notice would be given for the next meeting, and closed that 
of the present day. 



